Aria of the Crystal
by Lunar-ninja
Summary: During a training run in the sewers, the TMNT discover Bishop is up to his old tricks again. And as usual, they get in over their heads.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I have never owned the turtles and most likely never will, sadly. Peter Laird, if you're listening, I'd buy 'em off for all of my fortune of 50 cents.

**A/N: **Yeah, it's me again. I did submit this story back in...spring, I think it was, but it wasn't very well-written. I've beefed it up, lengthened it, and am actually going to get farther than two chapters. If you haven't read this before, then ignore me. XD

Hey everybody, I'm back! Miss me? I didn't think so. Yeah, you in the back, it touches me, but I think that person next to you is gonna slap you if you don't stop crying out of sheer joy. So I got this idea some time ago after watching the **Notes from the Underground** episodes. It will have little or no OCs, which is a first for me. No dragons either. I don't think anybody's crying about that though. (cackles) In the timeline, it takes place during the 4th season, after **Good Genes**. However, it doesn't get to Ninja Tribunal. (crackle snap) This has been a public service announcement.

1.

The rat paused in his scrounging for food and listened intently before scampering out into the sewer tunnel to begin separating another piece of soggy cardboard from the box that had snagged on a pipe sticking out of the brick. As he chewed, it began thinking of the softness this would add to his nest. Perhaps after he had finished harvesting from this part of the tunnels he could find a stray bit of wool or a bedraggled bird feather. Pleasure filled the small animal's frame as he tore off the chunk of material and made his way back to his burrow in a blocked off pipeline. This would make sleeping so much easier…For the past night or so the tunnels had been vibrating fiercely and he had kept hitting his sensitive skull on the unforgiving metal from powerful tremors.

He began shredding the cardboard and, once done, made his way cautiously out of his burrow to take another piece of the box from the tunnel. All that shaking and noise was probably humans and that really didn't concern him. He leaped up to his burrow and deposited the next scrap before going for the box again. Just as he began nibbling, his ears picked up a faint echo nearby. He stiffened and all too suddenly, a green foot slammed down next to him. He darted for the shadows with a startled squeak.

_Urgh. He would 'a heard that. _The shadow ran through the tunnels as silently as a ghost, looking for a good place to hide himself. As he ran, various holes and pipes appeared and disappeared in his peripheral vision. They were bypassed because of their obvious nature. _Hidin' spot…_Taking a large, careful step over a puddle, the shadow grimaced to himself. _Gotta find one soon…that minute has gotta be up by now. _

Finally after what seemed almost a minute, he found an alcove in the wall that was not very easy to see from the tunnels themselves unless one knew where to look. Smirking, he leapt into the shadows and concealed himself, settling his back against the damp bricks in the opposite wall.

Minutes passed. The steady drip drop of a leaky pipe was beginning to annoy him. Occasionally there was a sound but every time he held his breath to avoid possible detection, a rat scampered past. Once it was even a bedraggled cat that looked at him with eerily green eyes. And waiting wasn't help anything. His brothers had probably all been found by now. His pursuer was the master of the game.

He was fighting the urge to run out and go somewhere else to relieve boredom when suddenly a green face popped around the wall. The grin on his face was wide, corny, and toothy.

"Gotcha Raph!"

Raph groaned and face-palmed. Rats. "Geez, Mike, that was probably the longest game of Hide and Seek I _ever_ played. You're off your game today," he quipped, making his way into the tunnels past the Seeker.

His brother kept grinning abrasively, one eye ridge raised. "Aw, I think poor Raphie's just bitter I found him _first_," he teased, elbowing the hothead in the side.

Raph stopped stretching and stared at him. "You mean ya ain't found Leo or Don yet?" he groaned. Great. If he answered yes, Mikey had actually targeted him first. If no, then he was freakishly fast.

"Nope!" Mikey replied cheerfully, snagging his brother by the bandanna and catching him off-balance in the process. The action elicited a growl akin to that of a rottweiller on a leash out of his brother. He _had _gone for Raph first. If there was one lesson to be learned about the Game, it was that you don't go for Raph first. "Buuuuuuuut they're still out there somewhere! Come, my trusty sidekick, we must find the evildoers and show them justice!" He struck a comic book pose.

"I'll show _you _justice," Raph muttered, yanking his bandanna out of Mike's hands before following the skipping turtle down the tunnel.

* * *

Leo rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay, Mike, you can stop gloating now." He shifted on his feet.

Mikey grinned widely at him and spread his arms helplessly. "Aw, c'mon Ninja Master Leo, even _you _have to admit that hiding in those upper level tunnels is obvious!" Leo snorted. "And Donnie?" Mike waved his hand dismissively at the turtle that was currently leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and raising his eye ridge. "Dude, I'm not even gonna comment!"

"Yeah, well, I'm not the one who begged Don in the last game we played not to tell the rest of us he found him and continue on his merry way," Leo jabbed wryly. Raph chuckled darkly and Don coughed to hide his own laughter.

Mike stuck out his tongue. "Hey, I don't see _you_ trying new tactics, Strategy Turtle!" he quipped, fluttering his hands by his face.

Don snorted and smirked, uncrossing his arms. "Alright Mikey, you've had your fun. Let's see how you fare when _Raph's '_it'." Mike's cockiness faded visibly and the grin was replaced with an uneasy smile. Raph grinned slyly and made a cutthroat motion with his hand. Payback time. His orange-wearing brother paled and chuckled nervously. Leo hummed the funeral march faintly in a rare display of black humor.

"Um, you sure you don't wanna try being 'it' again, Leo?" Mikey tried to act nonchalant but it was very difficult when facing his red-clad brother, who was grinning like one who had won the lottery. "I mean, Raphie's probably still tired from – "

Raph interrupted. "Oh, I appreciate your 'concern' and all, but don't worry about _me_, chuckle head," he said, backing up into a position in which he could count. Mike uttered a squeak and grabbed Leo around the arm to partially hide behind him.

Leo grinned and looked down at his chicken-hearted sibling. "Alright guys, same rules apply. One minute to hide, stay within the boundaries. Remember, you make loud noises that all of us, or one of us who's credible in the least, can say we heard – "

"Yeah, and that means no cheating, _Mikey_," Don said pointedly.

Mike let go of Leo's arm and put his hands on what resembled hips. "Aw come on, Donnie, I wasn't lying! I really _did _hear Raph scream like a girl that one time!" he said with a pout on his face. Raph signaled him with a hand, and showed him the offenses he was racking up. "Ahhh, um, nevermind," the orange-clad turtle stammered, ducking down.

" - You get clean up in the dojo for a week," Leo finished, rolling his eyes. Mike bounced on his feet nervously, humming the Barney theme song in hopes that Raph would forgo his punishment. "Ready?" Don dropped the relaxed posture. "_Go!_" Leo and Don started sprinting in opposite directions, leaving Mike to stand there looking at Raph like a deer in the headlights.

"You gonna get going?" Raph asked, a sly grin on his green face. Mike jumped with a squeak and tore off after his other two brothers.

Then Don suddenly found his slack-off sibling running beside him with a nervous smile on his face. "Mikey!" Don whispered in amusement. "You can't hide with me." He tried running faster down the tunnel but Mike kept pace with him in an uncharacteristic display of focus.

He babbled rapidly, eyes wide. "Sure I can! There's gotta be an exception, right? My life's in danger if I hide by myself right? I mean, Raph would hand my shell to me!" Don stopped and shook his head.

"Quit being such a spineless shell-for-brains, Mikey." His brainy brother grinned and poked him in the plastron before disappearing into a dark tunnel.

Mikey's hopes for a long life were dashed in that fatal instant. The betrayal from his normally tame brother…it was too much to handle at such a critical time. _Aw, shell, I'm dead. _He bolted aimlessly down the tunnel Don had been running before he had made that turn. He almost yelped when a rat scampered nimbly across his path but managed to hold the girly scream at bay with his two hands clapped over his mouth. Several times trash nearly tripped him up in his fleeing from the Beast that pursued him.

Mike didn't know where he was headed but as long as it took him far away from Raph he was good. He made so many turns and jumped into so many pipes he lost sense of any direction. For all he knew he could've been going right back toward his executioner.

His minute was almost up and Mike still hadn't found a hiding spot. "Ohman, ohman, ohman, ohman, ohman, ohman…" he chanted franticly, turning into a large junction of tangled pipes. He jumped for one that stuck out, grabbed it, and flipped on top of it. He glanced around hurriedly before spotting a large pipe near the ceiling. "Phew!" Mikey felt a wave of cool relief flood through him as he shimmied up a large water main and propelled himself toward his savant.

He nearly missed the rim with his fingers but happily caught on to it and pulled himself inside. Deciding for the sake of safety to go further, the orange-wearing turtle crawled through it until he found himself in a large tunnel. Almost three feet of murky water flowed rapidly along it and disappeared over an edge. Mikey dared to indulge his curiosity and looked over.

A swirling whirlpool roared at the bottom. "Duuude…" Mike breathed. "If I'm not careful, that thing could grind me into turtle puree…" _But then, so will Raph if he finds me, _he gulped. The turtle ran up the tunnel until he found an adjoining passageway and slipped inside. He slid down the wall on his shell until he was sitting comfortably in the inch-deep water. He smirked gleefully and crossed his arms over his plastron. _Let's see Raph find me here!_

The minutes ticked by and Mike amused himself by counting the number of bricks in the wall opposite him. _Fifty-nine, sixty…Oooh! A space with _no _brick! Bonus two points! _the turtle exclaimed inwardly. _Sixty-one, sixty-two, sixty-three…cockroach…_His lips parted in a triumphant grin. _I don't think Raphie's _ever _gonna find me! It has to have been a half-hour already! _Just then a splash echoed through the tunnel. His heart jumped into his mouth. _Uh oh…_

He didn't have time to think anything else. A shadowy form suddenly leapt from his right and tackled, connecting painfully with him and carrying the both of them out of his hiding place. Mikey released a long, high-pitched squeal of surprise in reply, eyes screwed shut.

"AUGH! Don't eat me! _PLEASE _don't eat me!" he yelped as his attacker pinned his arms to the wet cement with strong hands.

"Mikey, has anybody ever told you ya make a horrible ninja?" Raph asked smugly. His sibling cracked one eye open. _Aw no, he's even _worse _than a monster! _The turtle on top of him lowered his head until he was almost beak to beak with Mike. The orange-wearing turtle quivered, the adrenaline from the ambush still pumping like wildfire through him. "I could see your freak'n hand smears on the pipes."

Michelangelo felt extremely indignant. "Raphie, I almost jumped outta my shell! What'd you do that for?" It was painfully obvious why Raph had jumped him like that but he didn't care. Revenge for what, two or three offenses? So not fair. He tried to wriggle free of the pin his brother had him in but Raph was about as moveable as Leatherhead when sleeping.

The grin never left Raphael's smug face as he withdrew his face. "Do you even need to ask?" he asked. "Besides, you were making so much noise coming up here you deserved it. Heck, you even hummed Splinters lullaby from when we were tykes."

"…Hey. The song is therapeutic." Mikey winced. "Hey Raphie, could you get off me now? You're really heavy."

Raph let his brother up. "Well, besides your trying to lull every rat in the sewer to sleep, I heard weird stuff in the tunnels further down," he grunted, switching subjects.

Mike brushed his arms off. "Like what? Leo and Don converging to make evil plans to smite us all? OW!" He rubbed his skull to ward off the sting from Raph's whap and glared.

"No. More like 'boom's and drilling, smart turtle." Raph crossed his arms.

"Wha-at, so it's a construction crew, big deal."

Raph disappeared through the pipe Mike had used to get into the tunnel in the first place. His voice sounded canned. "You and I both know the city stopped caring about this part of the sewers years ago. There's no need for work down here. Besides that, what construction crew in their right mind uses a _drill_?" He poked his head out of the hole, frowning. "You coming or what?"

Mike blinked. "What, we're gonna check it out? What about Leo and Don?"

Raph rolled his eyes and vanished.

"Hey Ra-aph, wait up!" Mikey ran after his brother, vanishing through the pipe with a 'woohoo!' which was followed by a smack and 'Ow! Cut out, Raph!'.

Michelangelo followed his brother through the tunnels for a long while, occasionally hearing noises that sounded suspicious. More often than those sounds, though, he heard (and felt) the thud of Raph's hand against his head as he commented on various things.

Suddenly Raph halted at the corner of a tunnel, peeked around, and held up his hand. The red-clad turtle backed up. "Stop. Look over there," he whispered, pointing around the corner. His curiosity piqued, Mikey tiptoed forward and peered around the wall.

It was the tunnel they had first seen Quarry in. Drilling mechanisms had torn the wall where the genetic recombinant had melted the cement. What was odd about it was that two of _Bishop's _men were standing guard by the entrance. And both had guns. Big guns.

Mikey scratched his head and the two retreated a ways down the tunnel before whispering. "What the shell are Bishop and his cronies doing down here?"

Raph grunted in reply. "I dunno. He wouldn't be lookin' for _us_. He already _got _his samples when he stuck us that first time we kicked his tail." The hot head suddenly grabbed Mikey and pulled him into the shadows of a different passage as a group of patrolling men walked by, guns at the ready. His brother nearly yelped in surprise but managed to hold it in until they passed by.

"Geez, you'd think they practically _expected _us to come and mess with 'em," Mikey said slyly. "And they have those big patrols of goons because the _Battle Nexus Champion _lives down here!" Raph glared sullenly at his brother.

"What I _don't _get is why he has that big drill down here…And why he's in Quarry's tunnel."

"Maybe he wants to make some cute little monsters in that Foot lab," Mike sniggered, receiving a well-aimed smack. "Ow!"

"Can it, Mike. It ain't funny," he growled. "Y' saw how much pain that guy on the vid feed went through. And everybody else was losin' their minds."

"Geez Raph, talk about your sense of justice. You should totally be my sidekick." Mike dodged the next swing and razzed his hotheaded brother in reply before getting smack on the arm.

Raph growled and watched another patrol go by. "Will you shut it? You're gonna get us found out!"

"Pffft," the gregarious turtle replied with a roll of his eyes. "Those guys couldn't hear you if you screamed 'Ollie Ollie Oxen free!' right in their ears. I mean, those helmets…thick." Mikey chuckled, apparently liking the idea. Raph sent him a 'don't you dare' look and he subsided with a nervous grin.

"…Well, I'm gonna check it out and see what that psychopath is up to," Raph said determinedly, getting up.

As he went to jump for a pipe in the ceiling, two pairs of hands shot out of the darkness and grabbed the both of them, yanking them back into the tunnel. Mike's initial reaction was a girly scream but one of the hands clapped over his mouth. Raph was caught in a hold he couldn't break free of, his captor holding his arms deftly behind his shell.

A snigger erupted from the one behind Mikey. "Geez, Mike, you sure don't know the meaning of the word 'stealth'," Don chuckled. "We could hear you and Raph from two tunnels down."

Raph growled and Mike sighed in relief. "Dude, I am so tired of being jumped today!" he whimpered as Don let him go.

"Next training exercise, we're upping the stakes," Leo muttered with a hint of amusement in his voice as he released his hotheaded brother. "As it is, you two have dojo duty for the week." Raph and Mike groaned. Don and Leo made their way back to the main tunnel. "Though it looks like we'll have to meddle with Bishop again."

Don rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "The only reason I can think of for Bishop going into Quarry's tunnel is that he wants the tech in the Foot lab down there," he said, pointing with a thick finger to the ground. "But he already has enough alien stuff to outdo Shredder's…so why?"

Mikey elbowed Raph and grinned. "Maybe he knows we've been raiding his lab for vanilla egg cremes," he said slyly. (1) Don and Leo grinned but those smiles faded quickly.

Finally, Don crouched. "I'm gonna go jack one of Bishop's vans to find out what I can," he announced softly. With that (and Mike calling out that it was suicide), Don leapt out into the tunnel.

He ran along the wall until he reached the corner of the passageway and peered around it. _Hmmm..two goons. If I knocked them out cold, somebody would be bound to notice…_Suddenly a clatter erupted from the opposite end of the tunnel. Don wall-jumped up into a tangle of pipes in the ceiling as a patrol came running by to investigate the noise. The brainy turtle watched them before he grinned. Mikey doing his job.

Don shimmied carefully along the pipes until he was right above Bishop's two henchmen. He debated on whether or not he should try to take them out. He would be one quickly dead turtle if that patrol came back and found their buddies incapacitated. And besides that, all he wanted was information, not a fight. The last thing he and his brothers needed was another tangle with Bishop. Don finally decided against acting offensively and grasped the top of the yawning hole Bishop's drill had bored in the wall. He swung through and immediately after landing shoved himself up against the shadowed rocks.

The brainy turtle stiffened and tried to make himself as unnoticeable as possible when one of the door guards looked in as though he heard something. "What's wrong?" he heard the other ask.

"Ah, I guess it was nothing. Man, I'm so stressed I think I'm just about ready to shoot myself," the first door guard muttered. "I must be hearing things." Don proceeded to thank whatever Man dwelled Upstairs and looked around from his vantage point. There was one of Bishop's black trucks nearby. The hatch door was cracked open just slightly. _Perfect! _

Don made his way toward the truck, keeping his breath shallow and his movements subtle. When he reached the back hatch, he listened carefully around the drilling noises for any signs of life inside. Clacking was coming from inside. He grimaced. _Drat, and that means I'll have to take care of whoever's in there. Oh well. _Don lightly grabbed the slightly ajar door and opened it just enough to slip inside.

The dim lighting was perfect. The typist at the keyboard turned but couldn't see him. Muttering, the man went back to his work. Don crept up behind him and pinched a nerve at the base of his neck. He slumped in his chair, arms falling limp. The turtle seized him under the arms and lifted him out of his chair, grunting with the effort. _Well, at least the humane society knows Bishop feeds his pets well. _Don laid him gently on the floor, then went to the door that opened to the driver's seat.

He cracked it open. Yes, there was a driver. But he could be left in his seat. The turtle reached through the space and grabbed the same nerve as he did the other fellow. The driver's head lolled back. Don propped it up and examined his handy work. _Looks normal to me! _He shut the door and went back to the computer, taking his staff out of his belt and settling himself in the chair.

He cracked his knuckles. _Alright Agent Bishop, let's see just what you're up to…_Don read what was on the screen. It was all a bunch of gobbledy gook. The turtle took the mouse and minimized the window, half expecting to see a picture of Bishop's face as the desktop picture. _Brainwashing employees as well as being a psychopath, _he said to himself with a grin. Disappointingly it was only the logo of the President. _Darn_.

The turtle surveyed the icons on the screen. There was another button in the taskbar, so he opened that up. _Ah, the plot thickens…_These pages had the signature logo of the Foot in the top right-hand corner. He could tell that the documents were on the lab deep underground by the numerous mentions of digger mutants. The picture of Sydney in the middle of one page confirmed his suspicions.

He propped his head on one hand and scrolled further down. _But why would he have these…that project is long gone. And the technology's screwed because of the last time we ventured down there with Sydney. _Don minimized that window and clicked another button on the taskbar. He frowned and narrowed his eyes at the text. _Subway tunnels jeopardized? Immediate investigation necessary? When was _this _written? _He checked the date. It was recent. _This is weird. _The missive was signed by the governor of New York. _Why wasn't this publicized? I'm pretty sure the people taking trains would like to know…or maybe there's a reason it was kept secret, _he mused.

The man on the floor behind him moaned and Donatello decided he had been there too long. _If I could just find a way to copy this information and take it back to the Lair without – _

Then he stiffened as a spine-chilling voice came from behind.

"I didn't think you'd be so eager to meddle in my business again after what happened the last time, Donatello."

* * *

So that's how the original chapter ended. I'll have the second one up soon too, methinks. (wink) Tell me what you think if you like.

LN


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I have never owned any mutated turtles of any type, or ugly secret agents with rapidly receding hairlines. I'd LIKE to own the former. Mirage can have the latter as far as I'm concerned.

**A/N: **Okay, next chapter is here. I didn't have as much editing to do with this one but I still lengthened it somewhat.

By the way, I do hope I portrayed Bishop right…he's the bane of my existence.

**2.**

_Oh…shell. _Don slowly turned in his chair, trying his best to act naturally. As naturally as one could act with several gun barrels and a fearsome man in his mid-life crisis in front of oneself. "Any particular reason why you've invaded a government project, knocked out my men, and skulked around my computer?" Bishop asked in a deceptively casual manner. Don heard his heart pounding hard in his ears. He had somewhat expected to be caught, considering this was a smooth, holier-than-thou secret agent that possessed more than just a rapidly balding head on those shoulders. But getting caught and cornered in a _truck _of all places wasn't a good part of his situation.

How he found these things out Don would never know. The turtle crossed one leg over his other, slowing his breathing down. "Well, the sewers are always nice this time of year. Perfect for meddling," he replied, pandering to the word game. If it was anyone else, Don could've distracted them with conversation (the Shredder had always been quite the talkative one). But not Bishop. "And the fact that you haven't exactly been known to take up projects for the good of mankind also helps," he added, to see if he could get anything out of the man.

Bishop gave him a veiled smile and adjusted his glasses. "Humorous, but not entirely true. I won't bother to explain my project to you, Donatello, because I'm sure you've learned quite enough from what you read in your…snooping."

"Oh, not entirely," Don said airily, tensing. _He knows he's holding all the cards and could shoot me full of lasers any time he pleased. So why is he toying with me like this…? _

The agent nodded to his men and they moved in. "Lovely chatting with you, but I have work to be doing and I'm afraid I can't let you go. You have found too much to just walk away without meddling. And I must admit I'm not one to reject a scientific discovery delivered to me on a silver platter," he said with an unsavory grin. Don gritted his teeth. _I should've known better than to just have walked in here expecting an easy out…Stupid! _

As one of Bishop's men motioned threateningly at Don with his gun, a bellow erupted from outside. "Eat feet, whackbag!" From behind Bishop came the juggernaut known as Raphael, crashing right into the man's undefended back. Don caught a gratified smirk on his brother's face. That must have felt good. Don himself would've lashed out at the man with his staff (his nose being the target), but having guns pointed at oneself can paralyze one's reflexes. He flew forward right past his captive into the door adjoining to the driver's seat, huffing at the harsh impact.

Don grabbed his staff from behind his chair and leapt up as Raph began unleashing a can of hurt on Bishop's goons. "Thanks for the save, Raph!" he said quickly as he ran past the skirmish and hopped out the door.

"I rescue your damsel-ing butt way too often, Donnie," the hot head retorted, finishing the last guy and vacating the vehicle as well. He turned and kicked the doors shut. "Now let's beat it!"

As they went for the hole in the wall, in ran Leo and Mikey, the latter with wide eyes. "Dude, you're going the wrong way!" Mike yelled as he ran past them. Don made an attempt to ask why but was interrupted by lasers whizzing past him. That patrol had come back. He heard Raph utter an "Ah _crap_!" as he turned to follow his two brothers. Leo hopefully had a plan to get them out of this dead end because Don sure didn't.

The abandoned subway tunnel that had caved in during their first excursion to the Underground had been excavated to the point where it became a large chamber. But there were no other exits besides that single hole, Don observed with a sinking feeling. They were still cornered like rats.

Most of Bishop's men had snapped out of their daze when they noticed four little green guys streaking past them and were now making use of their blasters by shooting aimlessly at them. Leo led them to a huge boulder half-embedded in the ground, which they promptly ducked behind to avoid getting Swiss-cheesed by the lasers flying around. Raph glanced around the rock and immediately pulled back when he nearly got his face vented.

"So what's the plan, Fearless?" he growled, eyeing Leo. The blue-clad turtle looked over the top of the rock himself and had to retreat back into safety.

Leo gritted his teeth. "Our only option would be to fight our way to the out and hope nothing goes wrong."

"Or we could get on our knees and _scream for mercy!_" Mike squealed, collapsing on the ground with his hands over his head.

"While we what, beg for a quick dissection?" Raph asked dryly, grasping his Sais. "No thanks. I'd rather go down kicking butt."

"I don't wanna go down at all!" Mikey whined. "Whose bright idea was this, messing with Mr. Secret Agent again?"

Don felt a little sheepish. "Whose fault it is doesn't matter; Bishop was doing weird stuff in the sewers, he should've expected some meddling," Raph said shortly.

Just then, one of Bishop's soldiers appeared around the boulder, the barrel of his gun pointed straight at Raph. Quick as lightning, Raph had his Sai out and stabbed through the weapon. He then proceeded to kick the man away and fling the sparking blaster over the rock. Seconds later there was a loud boom and dust flew everywhere.

"_Distraction!_ _Go! _" Leo bolted around the boulder into the cloud of confusion.

Wordlessly, Don quickly ran after him and whipped out his staff to smack three gun-toting goons to the ground. He could vaguely see the form of Leo disarming a soldier of his blaster and roundhouse-kicking him into the man beside him. Both crumpled to the ground and the turtle went in for another strike with his swords at a soldier who had been aiming in a rather unsportsman-like behavior at the taunting Michelangelo's back.

Don yelped and dodged a shot with inches to spare. The turtle quickly rammed shoulder first into the offending goon. He was rewarded with a surprised huff from his victim, who flew through the dust and landed with a grunt of expelled breath in the crater formed by the exploding blaster. Then he turned and suddenly barreled into another few of Bishop's soldiers, the bunch of them falling into a confused heap about him. As he tried to fathom what had just happened, one found Don lying next to him and shot out with the butt of his gun for the poor turtle's head. Don made a Mikey-like sound of surprise and moved to dodge it.

He barely got out of the way in time. The gun butt missed Don's head but connected instead with his shoulder. The turtle stifled a hiss as his nerves delivered the message to him with annoying promptness. Don proceeded to smack the smirk he knew was under the man's facemask right off with a solid punch to the skull. He left the man to lay there and flipped onto his feet.

He glanced around, seeing his brothers spread out among fights. Not good. All of them knew they were better off in a group. And what was worse was that the dust cloud was clearing up. Don started to make a beeline for Mikey's knot of men but was cut off by a line of soldiers that had evidently decided he was to stay put and make friends. _Wrong answer_, Don thought to himself. He tightened his grip on his Bo and crouched.

Don suddenly flew into a leap, landing precisely behind several of the soldiers, and spun in a circle with his staff outstretched. He promptly jumped lightly and executed a roundhouse kick. The turtle's already off-balance enemies sailed forward, slamming into the van with a satisfying thud. He then swiftly swung his staff at another man's facemask from his airborne position. The plastic shattered, digging into its wearer's face and eyes and caused a strangled scream to tear from the soldier's bloodied mouth. He was down.

From his landing, Don tackled another foe to the ground, cracking his head on a rock. Inertia carried him off his unconscious opponent and into another, flattening him on the ground. He bounced off and settled into a crouch. He was a little closer to the exit now but still too far away. Don heard Mikey yelp and he whirled. The gregarious turtle had gotten himself cornered. There was a smoking spot on the wall next to his head. Don guessed the shooter had just missed.

Mike wall-jumped over his ring of men and round house kicked two in the back once he landed, but that was as much as Don got to see. Something cracked him on the back of the head, sending him flying with a starburst of pain exploding in his head. He crashed onto the ground and rolled several times before a wall kindly stopped him. "Okay, that one hurt," he moaned. Whoever had given him that smack had one strong arm.

Stars danced in his eyes as he rubbed his head vigorously to relieve some of the pain. And his already throbbing shoulder complained even louder. He blinked owlishly at the gun barrel pointing unyieldingly at his beak.

"I'd say you've done enough, Donatello," Bishop growled, red glowing lines showing through the white shirt under his suit. Of course he had to have his tech suit full of goodies with him. That was probably what sent the turtle flying. Him and the butt of his blaster. "I'm afraid your unique genetics won't save you this time." The gun began to hum. Don knew that unless his body responded to his screaming mind, he was toast.

From a distance, Don heard a bellow that was all too familiar. A flash of silver and a Sai was firmly embedded in Bishop's gun. The man voiced a gravelly yell of surprise as the device crackled and flashed, and only amplified his angry noises when Raphael crashed into him with his feet. Both flew out of Don's stunned line of vision, leaving the gun behind in front of him. This was enough to snap him out of his daze. Fright wormed its way into his stomach and he scrambled rapidly away from the weapon, shoulder throbbing viciously. Seconds later, the tunnel was rocked with a resounding explosion.

Don looked back at the smoking hole that had appeared due to the blast. "That worked just as well as when Raph did it last time," he observed with wide eyes. His brother and Bishop seemed oblivious to the yawning hole, exchanging blows so fast they were impossible to follow. Don watched in horror as Bishop got the upper hand and seized the hothead's wrist.

Next Don was knocked off his feet by Raph's flying body. Both tumbled as they hit the ground and crashed into the van Don had so eagerly jumped into not five minutes before.

Raph groaned and got up. "I give the guy _five_ seconds to make his will before I grind his head into a smoothie with my bare hands," he growled murderously, helping his brother up. Don's shoulder was really starting to hurt by now. _Stupid gunman_, he grumbled inwardly.

"We're not getting anywhere with this," he pointed out hurriedly as Bishop flew at them.

"Depends –" Raph dodged the lightning fast swing of a fist and flipped on top of a nearby van. "—what you call—" He seized a satellite dish and ripped it off the roof as Bishop snarled and kicked out at Don, who rapidly ducked. "—anywhere!" he finished with a throw of his improvised discus. His target grunted, unfazed, as it made contact with his gut. Don took the distraction and did a series of flips backward to put some space between him and his adversary. Raph also made use of Bishop's momentary flinch and launched off the top of the van, punching him solidly in the jaw.

He bent like a willow switch, absorbing the hit, and flipped. Raph's chin made painful friends with Bishop's foot and his head jerked up. The agent landed and promptly kicked the turtle's legs out from under him. "You fools don't understand what you're meddling in!" Bishop growled through gritted teeth, ducking Don's Bo staff with ease and catching it in one hand.

"Sure we understand, moron!" Raph was on his feet again and had his Sais out now. Where he retrieved the second one from, Don would never know. "You're up to no good again!"

Bishop caught his attempted stab and at the same time, pitched Don with his powerful arm. "WHOA!" The turtle sailed almost twenty feet and rolled the rest of the way right into the backs of Mikey's legs. Raph followed suit not long after, colliding with Don. The turtle's shoulder complained violently at this and he voiced its pain.

"Ow!"

"Hey!" Mikey passed within inches of a shot from a gun and proceeded to quickly swing his 'chuk at the offender's arm. There was a dull snap and he fell backward screaming with a broken bone. Mike looked back at his two brothers. "You guys sure know how to throw a dude off." Don turned his head and saw the sideways view of Leo kicking tail a few yards off.

"Ugh…" Raph grunted, getting up. "This guy is seriously gettin' on my _last _nerve."

Leo backed up to the group, breathing heavily with swords forward. "Any bright ideas, Leo?" Don asked. The soldiers of Bishop's small army that were left slowly closed into a circle around them, guns pointed evenly to the center of their ring.

"We could surrender, kiss his feet, and then tell him we're sorry and we'll never be bad little turtles again," Mike offered nervously. Raph's growl told him the idea was not appreciated.

"I'm terribly sorry, Michelangelo, but you and your brothers' meddling has gone too far for mere mercy to correct," Bishop said in that gravelly voice of his. The ring of soldiers parted to let the agent pass. He adjusted his glasses and crossed his arms behind his back, a habit that Mike had once mocked in the safety of the Lair.

"Tough!" Raph snarled unyieldingly, brandishing his Sais. "You're on our turf, you're stickin' your nose where it shouldn't be, you should've expected some butt-whoop comin' your way!" Leo shot him a warning glance. The turtle subsided with a thin glare.

Bishop smirked. "I figured you would be smart enough to keep your fingers out of the proverbial pie," he replied, letting his arms fall to his sides again. The soldiers tensed. "But it seems I've been giving you far too many chances." He gave an almost imperceptible signal with his right hand. Mikey gulped. "Take small comfort in knowing that I will enjoy every last moment of dissecting you."

"Dissect _THIS_!" Raphael's Sai flashed across the space between them and Bishop, with him close behind it.

"Raph! NO!" Leo darted after his brother, and all shell broke loose.

Don had just enough time to see Bishop expertly dodge the flying weapon and catch Raph's descending fist before he had to duck gunfire from the soldiers' blasters.

Mikey yelped with all the pitch and tone of a schoolgirl, narrowly avoiding the rays of energy by sheer luck. "Nice going, Raph!" he squealed, proceeding to agilely smack a man's gun from his hands with his nunchakus. The unfortunate soldier staggered back and got a face full of green foot. He was down.

Whirling like a dervish, Mikey spun to miss getting his entire internal system vented by the random gunfire. He rolled, halting between two soldiers, and kicked out with both feet. The two went sailing, bowling over several of their comrades. The turtle gave a victory whoop and flipped upright, only to find several more in their place.

"Geez, don't you guys ever take a lunch break?" he whined. Shoving his utmost desires to dash headlong for the exit of this wild party, Mikey leapt, whipping his nunchakus down on the heads of two of the new guys. He landed to the melodious sound of loud thumps and struck out at the kneecap of another. He collapsed on the unresponsive leg with a loud scream of pain, unnoticed by his rapidly moving attacker.

Since he hadn't been shot or maimed in any way, Mike was feeling rather triumphant.

Until he managed to get himself ringed in by soldiers. The turtle stood slowly, nervously raising his hands at their unmoving gun barrels. "Uh…uncle?" No response. It was to be expected, after all. _Okay, Mikey, on the count of three, you pull a fast one on them…_A gun started to hum nearby and his eyes bulged. _THREE!_ He ducked in the rapidness of panic, the shot zipping over his head into the man opposite him. Mikey flipped backward and landed on the shooter's shoulders with a hard kick down. "Tut tut! Sloppy aim there, son!" he taunted as his platform collapsed soundlessly.

Using his fallen foe as a springboard, he jumped onto another man and pushed him over like a domino with a well-placed pair of feet to the chest. He rebounded from the kick, landing neatly on his feet. "And the amazing Michelangelo earns a ten for his stunning routine! The crowd goes wild!" He bowed with one arm outstretched. "Thank you, thank you…YIKES!" he yelped as a hand seized him from behind and pulled him down as a ray flew overhead.

"Mikey, move your shell!" Don cried frantically, letting go of his brother's carapace and falling backwards. A shot hit the place he had been in. Mikey's eyes grew wide as he realized the soldiers were growing wiser to their evasive tactics. He gave a high-pitched squeal and bolted for another van once several of the soldiers had missed by mere inches. Don was close on his heels.

"This…is not…working," Mike panted heavily, sliding down the van's wall with his shell until he was sitting. Don chanced a peek around the corner and pulled back quickly as gunshots ricocheted off the back doors.

"We're sitting ducks if we keep this up," Don replied grimly. He assumed the 'chin in hand' position. "We need a way to find Leo and Raph too…they can't be having a much better time of it." At that moment, over the chaos of gunfire, a familiar scream reached them, laced with pain.

Mike sat bolt upright. "Leo!"

Don gritted his teeth and took out his staff. "Hang on Mikey, we're getting over there…with the help of Bishop." He wound up like a major league baseball player and swung the Bo right at the driver's window. The glass shattered on impact with a satisfying tinkling.

"Dude…Don, you'd make a wicked Babe Ruth."

Ignoring the comment, Don grabbed the roof of the cab and swung in through the window. Mikey dove in and landed without grace in his lap. "Oof!" Don helped him the rest of the way to the passenger's seat with a solid push on his brother's shell and turned the key that had been so generously left in the ignition. The van rumbled to life.

Suddenly, the passenger window shattered in a shower of glass and shots from the soldiers' blasters, prompting a squeal from Mikey as he covered his head with his arms. "Eeep!" The muzzle of a gun thrust itself through the ruined window, aimed right for Don's temple. His brother sat up and threw his fist out into the offending soldier's facemask, knocking him over. Mike abruptly ducked as more shots came screaming through the opening, missing the turtle at the wheel by inches.

Don yanked the shift and stomped on the accelerator. "Hang on, Mikey!" he yelled as the tires squealed. The van jumped forward and Don had to wrench the wheel to avoid running into a digger. Mike has obviously bouncing up and down in his seat because of the motorcycle-like noise escaping him. Soldiers jumped out of the way of the vehicle as it made its way across the manmade cavern. "Whoa!" They were fast bearing down upon Bishop, Leo and Raph, the latter two currently on their shells. Don grabbed and turned the wheel, maneuvering the van toward the former. "Mikey, _JUMP_!" He yanked his door open and the two dove out. The turtle in purple landed heavily on his injured shoulder, and he stifled a yelp as he rolled.

Bishop leapt aside as the careening vehicle flew past him. It continued on in a trail of dust until it hit a wall, emitting a mournful screech as its front crumpled like an accordion.

"Nice driving, slick!" Mike thumped his brother's shell, grinning.

"Ugh…Donnie, take a look at Fearless for me, would 'ja?" Raph grunted, getting up laboriously. "I think he got hit by one of Bishop's cronies." Worry clawed its way into his stomach as Don crawled over to his sword-wielding brother.

Leo struggled into an upright position and hissed in pain. "Ugh…Donnie, you okay?"

"Fine," Don replied, bypassing the question and gripping him on the carapace to keep him sitting. His eyes were immediately drawn to the bloody spot on his brother's shoulder. "Leo, were you hit dead-on or did it glance?" Sounds of a fight erupted behind them. Don whipped his head around and saw Raph and Mikey attacking Bishop without mercy. Both of their faces were twisted into grim expressions.

"I'm not sure. I think it just grazed me," he answered, shifting a bit. "I didn't see the gunner until Raph yelled at me. Lucky shot." Don scrutinized the injury carefully. "It hurt like he didn't miss at all, though," Leo muttered, wincing when his examiner pressed too hard around the bloody spot. Raph's cry of helpless anger erupted from behind. He would have to do this at the Lair later…if they got away before Bishop could pull out the big guns.

Don slung his brother's arm over his shoulders and gently helped him up. It wasn't lost on either of them that the soldiers he and Mikey had left behind were slowly gathering in a semicircle around them.

Finally, it seemed Bishop had enough of playing with the two turtles. He dodged a rapid swing of Mikey's nunchukus, grabbed him on the other end by the wrist, and spun, throwing him at Don and Leo. Their brother's high-pitched "Yikes!" reverberated off the walls. His flying lesson came to an abrupt end when he struck the ground and rolled several feet past Don and Leo. Raph growled murderously and kicked his attack speed up a notch, becoming a blur of green.

The strikes toward Bishop were coming fast and furious now. Raph almost landed a hit that could've sent his opponent reeling and after Bishop's dodge, went into several lightning-fast slashes with his Sais. Leo watched anxiously. But his brother's temper was beginning to get the upper hand. A Sai flashed mere inches from Bishop's cheekbone but the man showed no signs of surprise.

Mikey was now standing. "Uh, Don, shouldn't we get Raphie out of there so we can haul our shells to, say, anywhere but here?" he asked nervously.

Leo shook his head grimly. "We're not leaving until –"

At that moment, something happened that nobody expected, least of all the turtles.

A guttural roar of fury erupted from the gaping hole that had been blown in the side of the excavated tunnel with the blaster Bishop dropped. Leo jerked visibly and let go of Don, and Bishop sent Raph tumbling backward with a firm kick to the plastron before whirling to face in that direction. Now the turtles seemed invisible to him. Mikey yelped as the ground shook. The agent bellowed some command that was lost in the following chaos.

Something enormous leapt out of the breach and landed with tremendous aftershocks on the floor. Its roar caused Don's ears to ring.

"What the shell is _THAT_?!" Raph had made his way back to his brothers sometime after Bishop kicked him; when, Don couldn't be sure. The creature currently rampaging amongst Bishop's soldiers had all his attention.

"I have no idea," Don replied. "But I think it's the general consensus that we get the shell out of _here_." Bishop had obviously known this creature was down here; he didn't seem fazed at all by its appearance. _Maybe that's what was jeopardizing the subway tunnels, _Don realized. It looked like a digger mutant from the experiments the Foot had done deep underground, but…_We got all of the mutants with the serum…didn't we? _Wait, there was that door-

"Uh, Don…Don't mean to interrupt your 'me time', but that THING'S coming this way!" Mike squealed.

The creature roared and slammed its forearms down into the ground. Gleaming red eyes narrowed as it saw the four brothers gathered together. With a bellow, it launched off its two shovel-like claws.

"Move it, Donnie!" Raph shoved Don to the side roughly. He and Mikey leapt aside as the hulking monster raked its claws across the spot where they had been. It whirled with amazing speed, fixing its eyes on Don and Leo. The former's eyes widened.

"Hang on, guys!" Mikey vaulted from behind the thing and promptly whipped his nunchukus down onto its back. The hollow smack made Leo cringe. That should've hurt _very _much. But the creature didn't even flinch; it merely gave an angry snort and grabbed its attacker out of the air in its claws. Mike cried out in pain as he was lowered to eye level.

"_MIKEY!_" Raph darted in and stabbed his Sai into the thing's leg. Don and Leo watched in horror as it roared, pitched Mike into the wall, and swiped at the turtle in red. The two shovel-like claws swept Raph off his feet and into the wall with a sickening crack.

Suddenly a current of bright, crackling electricity leapt from out of Don's peripheral vision. Bishop's enormous stun gun from way back during the Triceraton invasion. It struck the monster, which bellowed. Don took the opportunity to run with Leo to Mikey. He wasn't moving.

Leo sucked in a breath. "Don…"

He wasn't listening. Don knelt to examine his brother. He pressed his fingers to Mike's neck. Strong pulse. But his breathing was hitching…A hard knock on his cranium jolted him from thought. The culprit was a small rock that had fallen from the ceiling. Don felt panic worm its way into his stomach. The tunnel was coming down around them. It was still unstable after the last cave-in.

The monster bellowed wrathfully. The electricity had done nothing but anger it further.

He had to get Raph. He had to get his brothers out of this mess.

"Leo – "

"I'll get Mikey, Don," he interrupted grimly. He started gingerly picking Mike's unmoving form up onto his shoulders. A tremor wracked the tunnel, raining dust and small rocks down. Leo squinted, winced, and gave Don a prodding look. "Go, get Raph. I'm right behind you."

He whirled and ran for his other brother. Raph was attempting to stand when he arrived at his side. When Don went to help him up, Raph waved him off gruffly. "'M not a kid, Don, I can walk," he grunted. Nonetheless, Don gripped him gently under the arm and helped him upright.

"Give me a break, Raph, that thing hit you like you were featherweight," he replied, glancing toward the epicenter of the mayhem. The monster was still distracted with Bishop. It bellowed and smashed an oncoming vehicle with a downward swipe of its giant claws. Don looked for Bishop but couldn't see him in the mass of rapidly losing soldiers. The creature lashed out with its right forearm, sweeping some of the men into a wall. A vicious rumble shook the ground.

Vaguely he heard Leo call his name, but he was too busy gazing at the ceiling with wide-eyed horror. It was coming down.

"LEO! Follow me!" Don shouted in panic, making a beeline for his only nearby option. A boulder fell in front of him, the resulting tremor throwing him off balance. The beast roared. Raph gripped at him as they flailed. They were almost to the hole.

The monster screamed in agony. Don looked back. Bishop was standing there with a very large smoking gun. The creature began to thrash uncontrollably, slamming the walls with its massive arms. Raph pushed off the floor to get them closer to their goal. And then they were at the gaping abscess.

The groan of rock on rock filled their ears as they tumbled into the chasm below.

* * *

And this is where I stopped originally. Let's hope I can get my butt in gear and keep trucking. XD

LN


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